Helmet Laws: Don't tread on me
Doc Shaw - Apr 7, 2011

Last week, my sixteen year old son wanted to know why he had to be home by 10:00pm. After all, he’s an adult now (in his opinion), so don’t I trust him? It’s the timeless lament of every teenager. Of course, I trust him… its everyone else that I don’t necessarily trust. 

The American mindset whether young or old is the same… freedom to choose my own destiny, make my own decisions, drive without a seatbelt or ride without a helmet. As the old saying goes… I am an adult and I know what is best for me… as long as my wife agrees.   

April is Helmet Awareness Month and mandatory helmet laws are a enduring topic of a heated national debate. Most riders embrace a “don’t tread on me” mentality and when a law is written that tells us we have to wear a helmet, its’ the same as being forced to eat vegetables we don’t want.  We know it’s good for us, but doesn’t go down well.

That said, its’ well known that states which have repealed mandatory helmet laws have documented a substantial increase in crash fatalities. But, those facts seem to get in the way of what is important about riding.

Riders better than others know the risk of riding on the road. Riders may not have the crash stats at the tip of their tongues, but they fully appreciate what an unexpected impact with steel and asphalt would mean.

Not one rider woke up today thinking this is a good day to catch a bad case of road rash. We know it happens, but we assume it will be the other guy or gal. After all, I am holding on the handlebars, so what can go wrong. Unfortunately, a couple of hundred riders seriously found out today.  

Personally, I have no problem with any rider that wants to ride without a helmet or naked for that matter. But and there is always a “but, why should I or anyone else pay for the medical bills that result from in a crash?” The cold reality is… over one hundred thousand riders are killed or seriously injured each year in crashes. And the impact of a crash is not just to the rider, but also involve unwilling participants like family, friends, employers and co-workers.  These folks are the collateral part of the injuries left behind to bury and grieve or to just take care of the victims. If you ignore the personal impact and only consider the facts in the dollars and time, your decision to ride naked can exceed tens of thousands of dollars if something bad was to happen. Serious rider crashes can exceed $100,000 in emergency care, surgeries, rehabilitation and lost income. 

As I said, ride without a helmet where permitted if you want. But, don’t make others carry the cost of head injuries that will be very expensive. Most riders carry the minimal amount of medical insurance. On the flip side of the same coin, many drivers if not most won’t spend a dime more than is required by the law for medical liability. In Nevada, the minimal insurance required is $15,000 medical liability to cover the other guy. At today’s cost for emergency care, $15,000 will just about cover the cost of the ambulance, the emergency room, and a couple of Tylenol. As I said earlier, serious injuries especially to the head can exceed $100,000.

If you think about it, Viking of old wore helmets because they knew that an axe to the head would do some damage to their IQ. It wasn’t ego that forced them to wear helmets. They just wanted to go home in one piece after a raid. Today, the military demand their troops to wear a Kevlar helmet in combat. Professional and amateur skiers and bicyclists wear helmets, and they don’t move anywhere near freeway speeds.

So is it a pleasure to ride with the warm wind through your hair? Definitely. To leave part of your skull embedded in the asphalt… probably not so much. If you decide to ride naked without a helmet and can’t afford or decide against adequate medical insurance to pay for the result of a nasty crash, at least have the courtesy to have DNR tattooed on your chest.  

Hitting someone over the head again and again only gives both headaches.

Dr. Steven Shaw is a motorcycle enthusiast with 35 years of motorcycle riding experience; 5 years as a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Motorcycle Rider Coach and Traffic School Instructor. He teaches advanced on road riding skills to inexperienced riders. Dr. Shaw volunteers time to the local high school driver’s education classes introducing new drivers to motorcycle awareness. Doc Shaw is dedicated to improving motorcycle safety.